Reading the Messages in Our Lives

Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism involves learning to work with the cosmic message, the basic message in our life situation. What we live, where we live, how we live—all these living situations also have a basic message that we can read, that we can work with. If you are speeding, you get a ticket. If you are driving too slow, you get a honk from behind. If you don’t pay your telephone bill, the telephone will be disconnected. There is always some message, constantly happening. From this point of view, vajrayana means openness to the messages that are coming across to us: acknowledging them, respecting them, appreciating their basic buddha natures.